Best Friends
by Charise
Summary: Claire and Gray are friends and Gray is comfortable with that. Claire sees an adventure waiting to happen. Sometimes opposites make the very best of friends.


-1Tinkly bells chimed as she walked into the dim entry of the library. She checked her watch. Three in the afternoon. Just enough time to read a few chapters before she needed to get back to work. She glanced around the library, looking for her shy friends. "Mary? Gray? Are you here?" she called, brushing her nose gently with the back of her sleeve.  
She heard a small "oompf" under the big sturdy librarian's desk. Mary emerged, glasses slightly askew. She rubbed her head, embarrassed. Claire ran over and threw her arms around the girl's small waist.  
"What are you doing, Mary?" Claire asked, releasing her grip and brushing dust off her friend's sleeve.  
Mary shook her head and laughed to herself. Patting her skirt, she looked at Claire over her glasses. "I was just putting a few papers away. You startled me." She whispered, almost monotone  
Claire grinned nervously. She hated Mary's curt and unfriendly way of talking. It made her seem angry or frustrated which made Claire worry she had done something wrong. 'Then again', she thought to herself as she moved to the small study table across the room, 'I tend to be a little over dramatic... And maybe that is just as annoying...Mary is a good friend, she just tends not to show it when Gr-…' Her thinking was cut off by a large, rough hand rubbing her blonde hair lightly and playfully.  
"Gray!" She exclaimed, beaming at him. "I'm so happy to see you! How was work today?"  
Gray's smile was hidden by the obnoxious bill of his cap. He set his book down on the table and plunked down in the chair kitty-corner to Claire.

He shrugged. "Fine, I guess."  
Claire smiled back, her eyes urging him on.  
He nudged her leg with his under the table. "You always ask, and I always give you the same answer, Claire. Why do you bother?" He said, eyes laughing and cracking a smile as she punched him playfully on the arm.  
"I just want to be sure to ask you on the day your work is wonderful." She smiled brightly at him, and he quickly pulled his hat over his eyes.

Finishing a line in her story, Mary moved from her spot at the desk and joined them as they sat, setting her writing next to the book Gray was in the middle of. Claire smiled at her and quickly put her book to her face and started reading. Smiling at each other, her friends did the same.

Mary sat back and watched them, noticing Gray's rosy cheeks and the adoration in Claire's eyes. Sometimes she felt left out, but it was alright. They were still her friends, the best she had ever had. She smiled down at her papers. Someday there would be a person she could be close to and love forever...maybe he was even in this room. Hopefully. 'But,' she reminded herself, 'every good thing needs time…'

Claire finished her chapters and thanked Mary, giving her a quick friendly hug and skipped out the door. Gray followed behind, giving a nod to Mary, saying goodbye.  
The blonde haired girl stopped and waited for her moody friend to catch up. They walked and talked. Mostly Claire talked, giggling about little bits of gossip she heard about the boys their age. When they got to the fork in the road, Gray turned to her. He was a little surprised to see her looking anxiously at the ground. He let out a little grunt and swatted at her bangs, trying to get attention.  
She looked up at him, her eyebrows knitted together. He tilted his head, confused. "What's up Claire? Do you need something?" She touched her shoulder and she blushed, and looked up at him. His eyes widened, and he blushed, pulling his hand away. He glared at the dirt, standing stiff. 'I wish I was better at this stuff…I'm so nervous in public…I guess there isn't anyone here…' he glanced around, uneasily. He turned to Claire and grimaced. 'Has she been staring at me the whole time? Why am I always such a freak. She probably thinks I'm crazy. Just standing here not saying anything.' He stole a glance back at his blonde friend.  
She dug her toe into the ground and touched his arm. "Will you come up to the mountain with me? I have to gather some berries and grass anyway...and I'm just not ready to say goodbye yet."  
He blushed and smiled, pulling his hat over his eyes again. "Sure thing, kid."

They walked together to Claire's farm, taking the short cut to the mountain. Slowly walking, listening to the quiet of the evening. A field of grass danced gracefully in the summer wind and small figures of farm animals dotted the mass of green. Sweet fresh air from the nearby mountain blew, brushing against his face and pulling Claire's long hair. Gray took a deep breath and let it brush away his worries. He scratched his head under his navy blue cap.

This was where Gray felt the best. Alone. He looked over to his right and shook his head. Well...almost alone. But he found that her presence, unlike any other person he had ever met, made him feel at home, not just comfortable. He let his guard down and grabbed her hand, giving it a tug. "Hey Claire, I'll race you to the bridge!"  
She looked puzzled at him, then her face brightened and she took off in a sprint. He laughed a little and ran after her, quickly taking first place.  
He was at the bridge moments before her and stopped to catch his breath, laughing. He stuck his tongue out at her and she narrowed her eyes and jumped, landing playfully on his back.  
His eyes widened and he steadied himself, letting out a grunt. She was just shy of his newly injured shoulder. In the few seconds it took him to recover, he could feel her laugh and move to get off his back, so he quickly looped his arms around her legs, keeping her in place, and made his way up the path.  
At first she was embarrassed and insisted on getting off. But when she felt his thumbs making tiny circles on her thighs, asking her to calm down, she did. She grabbed his hat off his head, and stuck it on her own.  
"Hey, Claire, that's mine." Gray said, feigned dropping her. She grabbed tightly to him and he stopped. She sighed contently and adjusted herself. Placing her arms around his strong neck, she put her chin on the top of his head and continued to talk.  
"..and then I told Kai that I wasn't about to do that to Popuri, because she was such a sweet girl, a true princess...and being one myself I don't feel right doing that, you know. I mean, I don't even like him like that. I tried to hint at it, but he gave me the pizza anyway and winked at me WINKED AT ME can you believe it?! I didn't..."  
Gray winced inwardly. It gave him a weird feeling to know other guys were wanting to spend time with Claire. Once, Cliff had brought her up in casual conversation, telling Gray how much he admired her hard work and how cute she looked sitting in the pews. He asked for Gray's opinion on taking Claire out someday, and Gray had drawn a blank. He never pictured Claire going out with anyone, let alone his roommate. It didn't seem right.

And so Gray's advice was to wait things out and see if she was interested. Honestly, Gray didn't know. He had talked to Claire about dating, just not _her_ dating. He supposed if Cliff was nice enough, Claire would enjoy going out on a date. He shook his head and glanced up.

Claire's eyes were closed tight and she was brushing his hair gently, humming to herself. The sweet sounds lulled Gray out of his thoughts, and into the present. He let out a grunt and shifted the weight on his back. 'Better not to worry about these things. It's up to her, no point in me thinking about it.' He reasoned.

When they got to the lake on the mountain, Gray dumped Claire off his back playfully.

"Hey!" She squealed, rolling in the long grass to get to his big feet. Wrapping her arms around his ankle, she grinned mischievously as he came toppling down beside her.

"Pest." He muttered embarrassed and she wrapped her arms around his naked head.

"Poor Grey. I'm sorry I knocked you over." She came around and looked at his face. He pouted and she punched him in the arm "Don't be a girl.". He wrinkled his nose and grabbed at her, but she took off in another direction, laughing.

When they were done playing around, he helped her gather some berries. He was stewing to himself mumbling about free labor when he saw Claire out of the corner of his eye.

"Gray!" She shouted and hurled a berry at his head. He dodged and turned to look at her with huge eyes. Taking a fistful of berries, he counterattacked with his own sweet, ripe berries. She giggled and pounced on him, knocking him to the ground again. Scurrying up, she placed her foot lightly on his chest and chuckled maniacally. He reached up and ran his fingers down the side of her leg, striking a ticklish nerve. Claire screamed and jumped off Gray. He pulled himself up and laughed. She huffed at him and went back to work.

"How good do you think my aim is?" Claire asked presently. Grey shrugged at her, picking the last of the berries off a branch. She calmly walked over to him and yanked him down to sit in the grass with her. She sat criss-cross and took a berry between her thumb and forefinger. Closing one eye she aimed for the mouth of her friend. She flicked it, and the surprised Gray strained his neck to catch it in his mouth as it flew upward. and caught them in his mouth as she tossed some at him.

"You're really bad at this, Claire." Gray said as he swung his body sideways to catch a flying berry.

"Maybe you're just not a good catcher!" retorted Claire as she picked up another handful of berries and throwing them all at his face.

"You're so immature." Gray laughed as he tried to dodge the juicy morsels. She flopped on her belly and sniffled. Alarmed, the boy scooted over so he was next to her. He stocked her head. "Sorry." her friend said simply, "That was a mean way to put that. You know I was kidding."

Claire looked up and smiled. "Yeah," She admitted, "I just wanted to see what your reaction would be." She stuck her tongue out at the dumbstruck Gray. She skipped off to pick up some herbs and told him to stay put.

He watched her, amazed at her ability to tell the difference between the grasses. When she was all done, she motioned for him to follower her near the bank of the lake. Gray set his cream jacked down on the ground where it was damp from the dirt.

Claire removed his hat for the first time since putting it on her head. Leaning back on her elbows, she looked up at Gray, the sun almost hidden by the horizon. He smiled at her, and she was glad she had the hat, so she could see his whole face. His blue eyes flickered at her and orange mop hair covered the tops of his ears. She ruffled the silky mane and put her hand back down to pick at some grass.  
He glared half heartedly at her, but his eyes widened a bit when he saw Claire staring at him intently. "What...?" He asked. "Do I have something on my face?"  
He began to wipe it and she said "Me and you are best friends, huh?"  
He looked at her, surprised by her sudden statement. He grunted, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. "Uh...why?"  
"We are, aren't we?" She smiled wide, reassuring him.  
He allowed his tense body to relax, feeling comfortable again under her smile.  
"Yeah, Claire, best friends."


End file.
